The third part of my Citizen Report Card will be the list of problems that I will track as well as the subset that I will work to help solve each quarter. As I said before, I’m going to use the United Nation’s list rather than come up with one myself.
Background:
The 17 initiatives were set in 2015 as a blueprint for United Nations’ members to improve the world by 2030. These somewhat differ from the list I put together. Its certainly far less politically focused than mine would have been. But, I like the idea of working within a framework accepted by, literally, the entire world. Yeah, I’m sure I’m going to find some naysayers who criticize it for one reason or another. And I will probably have some things to say about it myself in a few years. But I’m good with adopting this list and getting after it – at least as a starting point.
That said, because thousands of hours have gone into crating this list as well as over a hundred targets and indicators to determine effectiveness, I need to educate myself on exactly what is here. For Q1 2023, I’m going to spend time understanding these seventeen goals. In my experience, there are reasons big problems are big problems. It usually takes some time to get into these details of why no simple solution has worked so far. I’m going to take some time and dive into the details on all these world problems.
My goal for Q1 2023
- Work to understand all 17 SGDs in full
- Pick out one or two specific SDGs to focus energy on for future quarters
United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals:
GOAL 1: No Poverty | End poverty in all its forms everywhere
GOAL 2: Zero Hunger | End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being | Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
GOAL 4: Quality Education | Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
GOAL 5: Gender Equality | Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation | Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy | Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth | Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure | Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality | Reduce inequality within and among countries
GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities | Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production | Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
GOAL 13: Climate Action | Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
GOAL 14: Life Below Water | Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
GOAL 15: Life on Land | Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
GOAL 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions | Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal | Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
Ready. Set. Go!
At this point, I would call this the Official Start of my project. Up until now, this has all been an exercise in reading and finding things out. Now, it’s time to put my money where my mouth is. Or more accurately, to stop talking, and start doing. As I’ve expressed before, I believe citizenship to be a verb. It’s about DOING your DUTY. I hope I can live up to that call to action. Either, way, we will see.
Photo by Braden Collum on Unsplash
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